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| ritual washings in various traditions |
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| acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the sacred over the individual |
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| a story, usually fictional, that makes an instructive point. Every character and incident in the story stands for or represents a reality outside the story itself. |
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| sun goddess; clan ancestor to the Japanese imperial family |
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| 'no images'; referring to traditions that do not encourage visual imagery in religion. |
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| questions concerning the justice of human beings |
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| the cataclysmic end of the present world in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |
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| the incarnation of a deity (Hinduism) |
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| in Christianity, the sacrament employing water for the forgiveness of sins |
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| the ceremony by which a young person becomes a 'son' (bar) or 'daughter' (bat) of the commandments |
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| the 'song of the Lord'; one of the scriptures of Hinduism |
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| literally 'book'; sacred scripture in Judaism and Christianity |
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| in Mahayana Buddhism, one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Nirvana in the interest of bringing truth to the world |
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| the 'enlightened one'; Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism |
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| the religious tradition founded on the teaching and example of the Buddha |
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| originally, 'measuring reed'; the list of authoritative scriptures in a particular tradition |
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| the system of division of labor in Hinduism; the four castes are Brahmins or priests, Kshtriya or warriors, Vaisya or merchants, and Sudra or laborers. "Outcastes" are those who do not belong to one of the above. |
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| the anointed servant of God |
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| the religious tradition founded on the teaching, example, and person of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ) |
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| the great religious-political tradition of China founded by Confucius |
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| way of thinking that attempt to relate the various aspects of the universe |
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| a religious group founded by a charismatic leader that claims it has a new revelation or insight that perfects, changes, or invigorates an older tradition; and that is viewed with extreme suspicion by the older, more established religious traditions |
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| views of time; emphasizes the eternal repetition of time, as in samsara or, in some traditions, in the repetition of the change of seasons |
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| from the Greek, 'that which is binding'; refers to an approach to ethics based on duties |
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| 'law', 'duty', or 'teaching'; in Hinduism especially associated with duties of one's caste; in Buddhism, the teaching of Buddha |
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| students, followers of a religious teacher |
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| a way of thought, especially with respect to theodicy, that stresses the opposition of good and evil powers in the universe. |
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| Christian holiday, in spring, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus |
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| God's choice of certain persons for salvation |
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| the study of practical justification or of various answers to questions of the 'good' life |
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| originally 'giving thanks' (Greek); Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper in Christianity |
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| the process of drawing out or interpreting the meaning of texts |
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| the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Also, the second book of the Bible. |
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| referring to definitions of religion that stress the role of religion in human responses to suffering, death, despair, and the like. |
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| classical Greek name for the place of the dead |
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| 'narrative'; sacred stories in the Jewish tradition |
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| a word used by members of a religious community to indicate an illegitimate idea or movement |
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| the appearance of the sacred in human experience |
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| the predominant religious tradition in India |
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| the term used to signify the Nazi destruction of European Jews under the leadership of Adolf Hitler; also called the Shoah |
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| 'image'; in particular, visual images that mediate notions of the sacred to believers |
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| leader of prayer in Islam; for Shi'i Islam, also a divinely designated leader of the religious community |
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| describes those notions of the sacred stress its inherence in the world |
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| the 'becoming flesh' of the sacred, especially in Christianity |
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| the religious tradition that begins with the life and work of Muhammad; the 'submission' to the will of God |
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| a small but important religious tradition in India |
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| Jesus of Nazareth, founder of Christianity; according to Christians, the Christ |
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| in Hinduism, refers to the discipline of knowledge of the true nature of God and the self |
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| religion of the Jewish people |
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| the ancient, cubical structure outside Mecca; holy to Muslims as the place of worship constructed by Abraham and his son Ishmael |
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| the ancient, cubical structure outside Mecca; holy to Muslims as the place of worship constructed by Abraham and his son Ishmael |
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| sacred beings and powers in Shinto |
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| in Hinduism and Buddhism, the inexorable law of cause and effect |
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| the discipline focusing on doing one's caste duty in a spirit of detachment |
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| the condition of being in an intermediate state |
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| views of time; depiction of time as having a beginning, middle, and end |
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| derived from a Greek word meaning 'a public work'; in religion, refers to the form of public worship of a particular group |
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| Greek, 'word'; signifying absolute reason or mind; according to Christian doctrine, the Christ is the incarnation of the logos |
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| the 'rightly guided one'; the equivalent for Muslims of Messiah |
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| God's anointed or chosen servant; see Judaism; Christ |
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| release or liberation from the world, especially in Hinduism |
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| ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that focus on concern for human welfare |
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| followers of the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith; religious movement begun in the United States during the nineteenth century |
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| the great prothet of Judaism |
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| the great prophet and founder of Islam |
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| the month of memorial for the martyrdom of Husayn, grandson of the prophet Muhammad |
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| one who practices Islam; thus, one who 'submits' to the will of God |
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| aspects of religious traditions that focus on the appearance of the sacred to persons achieving a certain 'enlightened' state of mind |
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| a narrative that focuses on sacred reality and its relationship to humanity |
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| the sacred reality in Buddhism; signifies the extinguishing of all desire and release from the cycle of time |
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| indicates the standard for 'right belief' set by a particular community |
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| similar to orthodoxy, but refers to 'right practice' |
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| a story, usually fictional, in which the thrust of the story is to make a particular point but in which the characters do not 'stand' for realities outside the story itself |
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| Spring holiday and their rituals in Jewish tradition; celebrates the Exodus |
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| making restitution for ethical impurities in order to be fit to approach the Sacred |
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| to ask or beg favors of the sacred |
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| a sacred journey, usually to view a relic or to worship in a sacred place |
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| the process of giving reasons for the judgments one makes |
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| a deliberate attempt on the part of a person to communicate with the sacred; can take different forms |
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| the notion that the ultimate destiny of persons has been eternally established by God; associated with election |
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| religious specialist associated with sacramental elements of religious traditions |
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| 'outside the temple'; that which is ordinary, not sacred |
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| aspects of religious traditions which focus on the appearance of the sacred through words; see revelation |
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| ritual preparation for an approach to the sacred; may involve fasting or ablutions |
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| the holy book or sacred scripture in Islam |
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| the concept that a spirit or soul 'takes on' or moves from one body, one life, to another (Hinduism; Buddhism) |
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| physical items (bones, teeth, clothing) associated with a holy person and preserved by believers for their connection with the sacred |
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| from the Hebrew shabbat; the day set apart for rest and remembrance of the sacred through the medium of material reality |
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| the disclosure of the sacred truth |
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| a ceremonial act or repeated stylized gesture used for specific occasions |
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| elements of religious traditions which focus on the appearance of the sacred through the medium of material reality |
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| from Latin 'sacrum facere', that is, 'to make holy'; for example, by dedicating something to the sacred |
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| the cycle of time (Hinduism, Buddhism) governed by karma |
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| a split within a religious body |
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| 'writings', especially those writing which are considered authoritative or sacred by a particular religious community |
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| a religious group which demands conformity to certain standards in the behavior of its members, is exclusive in its membership, distinguishes its well-being from that of the larger society, and claims to be the bearer of religious truth |
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| ritual meal, part of the Passover celebration |
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| a person thought to have special, sacred powers, for example, as a medium for spirits or a healer |
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| Hebrew word for the place of the dead |
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| minority tradition in Islam; prominent in Iran |
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| indigenous religion of Japan |
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| in Hinduism, great public sacrifice in ancient India |
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| burial mound for a holy person; a sacred site in Buddhism |
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| in definition of religion, the attempt to identify an essence or core idea which distinguishes religion from other (for example, moral ways of thinking, feeling, and acting) |
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| majority tradition in Islam |
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| the 'way' or 'power' of harmony and balance among all things |
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| a system or practice for following the Tao |
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| from Greek telos, indicating the goal or end result; in ethics, signifies approaches which focus on the consequences of actions |
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| discussions of divine justice; the attempt to answer questions about the sacred arising from the experience of evil |
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| believing reflection on the faith of a particular community, with the goal of clarification of the logic and grounds of a notion of the sacred |
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| the 'instruction' of God in Judaism; the first five books of the Bible |
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| gate marking the entry for a sacred place in Shinto |
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| from Latin 'tradere', to "hand down"; the collection of symbols, rituals, scriptures, and customs associated with a particular group |
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| the movement of a soul or spirit from one existence to another (see reincarnation) |
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| that which 'goes beyond' or 'stands over,' as in religious traditions which present a notion of the sacred as transcending ordinary experience |
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| the Roman Catholic doctrine that the elements of bread and wine are transformed, in the context of the Eucharist, into the body and blood of the Christ |
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| the 'three baskets'; sacred scriptures in Buddhism |
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| writings of Hindu sages, approximately 700-200 B.C.E. |
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| ancient scriptures in Hinduism |
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| to show reverence or devotion for the sacred |
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| form of Buddhism, especially important in Japan |
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| religious tradition originating in the seventh century B.C.E. in Persia; see dualism |
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